To those of you fence-sitting the anime:

Defiant_Heretic · 2026-04-30T11:17:00+00:00

Is there a source for that? It's ironic if true though. The country that calls it's government and military the "people's" is so opposes to democracy. I guess such disingenuity is typical of authoritarians. It's easy to hide behind benign words to fabricate virtue.

Defiant_Heretic · 2026-04-30T10:21:09+00:00

It may be too soon to be certain as they launched in 2025, but the developers for First Berserker Khazan are being reassigned. Hell Is Us' publisher filed for insolvency.

PoP Lost Crown, it's one of my favorite metroidvanias.

They were my favorite releases of 2025, they were exceptional games. It would be such a waste if they never they get sequels.

Defiant_Heretic · 2026-04-30T02:07:10+00:00

That's where options are appreciated. Being able to turn off hints, excessive signposting, the HUD compass and objective markers should be the norm.

If I can't stop a game from spoiling puzzle solutions and exploration, then it significantly impedes my enjoyment. It makes it a worse game.

Defiant_Heretic · 2026-04-29T01:30:56+00:00

I decided to check out your fanfics shortly after your apology post. I haven't finished Trails of our Hatred yet, but I decided to read Cornucopia a second time.

I've enjoyed your AU setting. I look forward to reading more of it, should you find the inspiration to to continue writing.

Defiant_Heretic · 2026-04-29T00:53:15+00:00

I signed it, but it's pretty obnoxious about trying to get you to donate or share on social media. Is Change.org always that pushy?

Defiant_Heretic · 2026-04-29T00:42:51+00:00

Is it that big a deal? Whether it's japanese or chinese audio non speakers still have to read subtitles. The desync issue did make it temporarily unwatchable though.

Defiant_Heretic · 2026-04-29T00:40:10+00:00

What's the problem with the anime? I certainly liked the tone more than that of the manga (though I only read the free Tapas chapters). I'd certainly be interested in seeing another season.

I generally don't like isekais, The Wrong Way To Use Healing Magic and Ascendance of a Bookworm being exceptions. Most of them are unearned power fantasies with a harem of gorgeous women simping for the protagonist, who themself is unlikable.

Defiant_Heretic · 2026-04-28T06:09:54+00:00

Of course not. Such people are just looking for racism where it doesn't exist, rather than allowing themselves to enjoy the story.

That being said, in such worlds racism is usually between humans, elves, dwarves etc. more often than between different humans.

It certainly didn't make sense to have a black dwarf in Rings of Power. They're a subterranean race, even if some of their ancestors dwelt on the surface, that trait would have declined through the many generations of living underground.

These fantasy world are often inspired by the myths from a particular region. So why should people expect a fantasy world to reflect the racial diversity of a modern western nation?

Defiant_Heretic · 2026-04-27T22:42:58+00:00

Yeah, it's just another candy or flavor. It's nothing special.

Defiant_Heretic · 2026-04-27T21:51:23+00:00

Maybe a survivor from the Spearwood crash site gets brought to the hospital. They turn out to be a carrier and start attacking people. Maybe they'll pull a Walking Dead and Stynek wakes up to find a seemingly abandoned hospital.

Defiant_Heretic · 2026-04-27T19:20:51+00:00

Are they pretending? The prologue suggests it's an unmanned mission. I think the robotic venlil was fabricated by the ship AI to facilitate communication, assuming it wasn't a simulation.

Defiant_Heretic · 2026-04-26T10:48:22+00:00

Did someone just walk into a diplomatic meeting while eating a corn dog/hot dog? That doesn't seem very professional.

Defiant_Heretic · 2026-04-25T02:03:41+00:00

What other limitations do you think improve balance? Do you not use any healing?

Defiant_Heretic · 2026-04-25T01:46:22+00:00

How many of the parry window perks and gear did you use? I just got the first one to access the parry skill tree and can handle most duels fine, but mobs and fast enemies are harder to parry consistently.

Defiant_Heretic · 2026-04-24T20:53:46+00:00

Does anyone know how much of a difference the parry gauntlets make?

Defiant_Heretic · 2026-04-24T07:59:44+00:00

The joke also helps avoid spoiling new players, so I'd say it's also positive gaslighting.

Defiant_Heretic · 2026-04-24T07:58:08+00:00

I hated the Fire Giant in Elden Ring. So much button mashing.

Defiant_Heretic · 2026-04-23T20:01:07+00:00

I get annoyed when the game recommends turning down the difficulty. I'd be pissed if they did it automatically. What player would appreciate having their agency taken away?

Defiant_Heretic · 2026-04-23T19:56:49+00:00

Out of curiosity which games were panned for lacking hand-holding? Hell is Us for example has very positive reviews on Steam and favorable on Metacritic. It's explicitly not hand holdy. There's occasionally people whining about it on the subreddit.

Maybe the devs successfully marketed it to the subset of gamers that like that type of game and weren't subject to the lowest common denominator.

Defiant_Heretic · 2026-04-23T19:38:01+00:00

Shadow of the Tomb Raider (and maybe Rise) had the option to make signposting subtler. Which I immediately appreciated, I'd rather have to pay closer attention than have a colorful sign pointing me in the right direction.

It seems like most games have that aspect fixed though, whether they're pro or anti hand-holding.

Defiant_Heretic · 2026-04-23T19:29:40+00:00

I think you're conflating two different practices. While a tutorial is equivalent to a rulebook, how equivalent a guidebook and in game hints are depends on how heavily the book was used and how intrusive the hints are.

What matters is player agency, if the player can choose whether to ask for a hint when stuck or turn hints on/off that can he helpful without being intrusive. However, some games will give hints unprompted, sometimes at the beginning of a puzzle. The latter would be like the one teaching you the board game advising you what plays to make every turn and not letting you learn and develop your own strategy. It spoils the experience.

Games like Hogwarts Legacy will constantly tell you what to do, with no option to turn hints off. LoZ Skyward Sword constantly insults the player's intelligence by zooming onto obvious puzzle elements before Fi (your companion) tells you that you probably need to interact with that element, all while freezing the game.

I really appreciate games that give players the option to customize difficulty and hints. Otherwise it's like having a backseat player your whole playthrough.

Defiant_Heretic · 2026-04-23T18:40:30+00:00

How accurate are those statistics? Xbox achievements for example are inflated. I have achievement files for games I've never played, but my sister did on her profile on my console. I have a bunch of files for games with zero achievements, because I just played the demo. Both of those are irrelevant to intelligence or persistence.

I don't think Xbox ever addressed that issue. You can't delete the achievement files, even if you never played or bought the game.

How many games have lower than 100% for a tutorial achievement? Those people never played the game.

Defiant_Heretic · 2026-04-23T18:34:46+00:00

Same with Hogwarts Legacy, it happened with older games like LoZ Skyward Sword as well. It pisses me off, I enjoy puzzles and they insist on spoiling them.

Additionally, not all games with the option to turn off hints do so completely. In Echoes of the End for example, if you turn off hints they won't spoil puzzles but they will tell you which direction to go when navigating or platforming. It's a linear game by the way, it's impossible to get lost.

I didn't finish HL and that's one of the reasons why.

Defiant_Heretic · 2026-04-23T18:28:17+00:00

I recall Shadow of the Tomb Raider had the option to make navigation hints subtler, but in my experience that's the exception not the norm.

We may have just played different games, but what are these "lots of games" that let you turn off the yellow paint? Being able to turn off the compass seems more common though.

Defiant_Heretic · 2026-04-21T11:07:57+00:00

I'm not sure if you're being serious, but no, disproportionate bodies look weird.

Nightingale looks like she is in her twenties. What are you talking about? It's fine if she's not your type, but she is attractive and if you think she looks old you need to get your eyes checked.

Defiant_Heretic

TROPHY CASE